Odd Couple
by So Said the Dragon
Summary: Popular, attractive, athletic - meek, adorable, uncoordinated. Yugi and Kokoro's relationship is one that should never have been, and yet, it is. Yugi/OFC.
1. Chapter 1

A door opened in the back of her head. It seemed an odd thing to think, but it was her only basis for comparison – the sensation of a door that opened inside of her head. Cool air rushed around inside of her skull, through her veins until the chill found a spot to settle in her bones. Suddenly, she could no longer hear the drone of her teacher, or see the back of her classmate's head or the problems on the board. There was a noise not unlike a long, slow creak of rusted hinges, and a blackness that filled her sight like a cloud.

Something tried to speak. Not in a true voice, but in a curdled rasp that didn't sound much like a voice at all. It came from somewhere deep inside of the darkness, a fog that rolled around her ankles and up to her ears. The words it spoke were incoherent whispers, but she didn't need to understand the phrase.

Something wanted out. It had been imprisoned for too long, and it wanted to escape through that door in the back of her head.

Her pencil snapped beneath her thumb. The entire class turned to look at her as she stared dumbly at her hand, littered with splintered wood and fresh blossoms of blood. She found herself unable to reconcile the presence of blood with the blackness that overtook her head. A long gouge ran down the length of her thumb, one that swelled and dripped onto her paper.

She felt more than heard her teacher ask her to go to the nurse. Someone pressed a handkerchief into her palm, and suddenly she was in the hallway, alone. The growl from the darkness grew louder, more determined. She tried desperately to shut the door, but it refused – the wind was still too much for her to fight against. She could only hope that whatever bound the creature in the dark would hold until it let up.

The wind came from down the hall – she could feel it, but at the same time she didn't feel it at all, in much the same way that the door existed but did not exist all at once. She turned it face it, and it seemed as if the hall itself was encased in the same inky black that filled her mind. When she walked, she walked through shadows that didn't exist, against a typhoon with winds that didn't blow. Her forehead began to throb angrily as she stumbled towards the source, and the rusty screeches grew louder.

"Kokoro-kun?" Jou's voice broke through the howl. "Are you alright?"

She hadn't seen Jou or Honda approach. Her brain, trapped by ethereal darkness, struggled to compose a reply as the once-gangster raised her hand to look at it more closely. The injury really was severe, for a broken pencil to be the cause. Several large splinters of wood protruded from her flesh, stained with blood and lead. She must have squeezed it well after it snapped.

"I'm fine. I'm going to the nurse now."

"The nurse is in the other direction."

The door slammed shut. The darkness suddenly vanished, the wind fell flat, and the angry wails faded to silence. The pain of her injury suddenly took on a new life, where it hadn't so much as throbbed a moment earlier. Jou and Honda both politely escorted her to the nurse. The sheer amount of damage she had inflicted to herself during her stupor surprised even the physician – she was lucky the worst of it didn't require a handful of stitches. Everyone begged for an answer as to how she could do so much damage – for she had to have clenched that broken pencil in her fist for nearly a minute – without being aware of it.

She feigned a migraine. Her release from the nurse's office coincided with the end of the school day, and at her locker she was met with whispers and glances from many of her own classmates. She ignored them – it wasn't the worst rumor to go around about her. The source of that bit of unpleasantness appeared beside her, a mass of spiked hair at her shoulder. A third year, in a relationship with a first – she couldn't help but dwell on how unimportant that should be to everyone but them.

"Jounnouchi-kun said you were hurt."

"It's nothing." She smiled down at him as they pushed through the crowd in the locker room. "Just don't know my own strength, is all."

"He said you had a migraine, too." The young student observed. "But you don't get migraines. What happened?"

She glanced down at her hand. She had bled slightly through the bandage, and it continued to throb angrily at her, as if in defiance for it being ignored. The nurse had dug around in the wound for nearly ten minutes with tweezers to make sure the stray debris was removed, and the injury seemed determined to ensure she didn't forget.

"It's nothing, really. I just got lost in my own head."

He didn't seem like he believed her. They continued to walk in near silence until the Game Shop came into view. They bid one another good afternoon at the door, and she continued the several blocks to the apartment building. She passed through several crowds of shoppers along the way, but ignored most of them, determined to get home and complete at least one assignment before she set to dinner preparations.

The door flew open. She paused midstep and stumbled into the crowd, overcome by the nighttime void in her head. Her eyes flew across the faces that she didn't truly see, and abruptly settled on a young man, her own age or so. He stared down at his chest, surprised by something in much the same way that Yugi seemed to be by his puzzle on occasion. He glanced up, and through the crowd managed to lock eyes.

The thing in the darkness crawled out. It pulled itself from the shadows as it growled and screamed in the same tone of metal when ground against more metal. The boy seemed to startle, as if he could sense the creature that tried desperately to free itself from the last of its bonds. She could just make out the faint shape of a large ring beneath his sweater as it began to glow, brighter and brighter the longer they stared.

Suddenly the not-words made sense. She threw herself sideways, elbows out as she forced her way through the crowd and into a nearby alley. She came out the other side at a full sprint, and refused to stop until she was safely locked within her apartment. Her father glanced up from his hand-held game and cigar, and asked her what happened, but she couldn't quite hear him. The only sound in her head was the memory of that thing behind the door, when it's grinding and snarling became words.

It had told her to run.


	2. Chapter 2

She had no desire to visit Domino City Amusement Park on her one day off. With the end of the school year close at hand, she was much more interested in assignment completion and extra credit than amusement parks. She didn't really want to be part of Miho's "group outing", either, but the girl was incredibly difficult to argue with. It was easier to just waste the day at the park than it was to deal with her tantrum.

For the most part, they were subject to Miho's whim. The talkative girl thought the best way to win Ryuji's heart was to force him to observe another couple on a "date", under the premise of a group outing - and the only couple she knew happened to be Kokoro and Yugi. Every move they made was commented on by the young girl, though usually not disparagingly. When Yugi bought her lunch, Miho commented on how polite it was, and Ryuji was forced to pay for her out of common decency. When Yugi won a toy at one of the game stands, Miho begged Ryuji to do the same, because it was "so romantic".

Finally, she couldn't take any more. They happened to pass by a ride that only seated two, and she yanked Yugi's hand so hard his arm nearly pulled from its socket. She silently pointed towards the line, which moved forward at a fairly steady pace, and they crept into line as Miho continued to walk arm and arm with a somewhat frightened Ryuichi.

"Finally. Some peace and quiet." She sighed. "What ride is this line even for, anyway?"

Yugi's cheeks turned bright red, and he turned his eyes to his feet as several young men and women snickered. Someone said the words "brother and sister" just as she spied the sign above the tunnel – one of the new rides as the American craze, a Tunnel of Love. A series of swan boats bobbed along the water at a respectable distance from one another, filled with red heart-shaped seats. They paused to let one couple out a moment before another took their place from the other side.

"We don't have to go." Yugi mumbled, in a voice so soft she almost didn't hear him.

"Why wouldn't I want to go? This is the sort of thing people in relationships are supposed to do."

"But-."

"But nothing, Yugi-kun. I want to ride in the Tunnel of Love with you."

Several people visibly moved away from them, even people from their own school. She had gotten so used to the behavior she didn't bother to get upset by it – she would probably be worried if she saw a couple like them from the outside, too. Yugi hardly looked like he was out of elementary school, and she could easily pass for a college student, and they cut an extremely odd picture in spite of only being two years apart. It had cost her quite a bit of respect in school – many of the people she considered friends behaved as if she were a sick pervert who desired little boys, and even a few teachers looked at her with some disdain.

But she wasn't worried. Yugi would grow eventually, and as childish as he seemed sometimes he was certainly more mature than most of the students in their school.

The ride operator's eyes went wide when he saw them climb in the boat together. She leveled a glare at him as the swan lurched forward, and as the swan disappeared into the tunnel, she turned her attention back to Yugi. He seemed distressed as they moved through the hearts and soft lights, away from the glare of the sun.

"You'll get taller eventually." She said quietly, and he snorted slightly through his nose.

She sank low in the chair, until her rear was nearly off of the lip of the seat, and made a production of it as she placed her head on his shoulder. They passed through rows of hearts and romantic scenes of painted couples. After a few moments, when his nerves had visibly begun to fade, she leaned up and whispered in his ear.

"You know, I think this is the part where we're supposed to screw around."

He sputtered as he turned a violent shade of red – whatever words he tried to make came out as a garbled mess of noises. She pulled back to laugh. When he finally settled down, she angled herself towards him, one leg up on the seat. His eyes, more than happy to betray him, flickered to her bare thigh.

"Just one kiss. You can't go in the tunnel of love and not kiss."

Even after nearly a year, Yugi was hesitant to ask for more than her hand to hold as they walked to school. Any progress in their relationship was because she pushed for it – it often seemed as if he was terrified he would ask too much and she would never talk to him again, as though she would be disgusted by the same behaviors she instigated.

She waited patiently as he scooted closer, determined to get him to make the first move. He moved a little more, and a little more, until finally he placed his hand on her knee. He closed his eyes and leaned closer and closer, until he breathed on her lips. She took the final initiative, and moved towards him – their lips only just met when the boat rocked violently.

There was a high-pitched noise as gears and chains ground together, and suddenly the tunnel was silent and still, except for the sound of chatter from the other boats. The PA system crackled and squealed for a moment, before a half-static voice came over to tell them something had broken, and that they should stay in their seats until further notice.

"Okay. This is definitely the part where we're supposed to screw around."


	3. Chapter 3

Normally, when he couldn't sleep, he would rise from bed and sit at his desk with a puzzle he had yet to solve. However, in Pegasus' castle, there were no desks, or puzzles, or even a radio to turn on and distract his frazzled mind with. He was too tired to go over strategy again, and more over he desperately needed to sleep if he was going to be able to fight at his best in the morning.

His door creaked open. The light of the main hall poured through the gap, and cast the figure of whoever entered the room in shadow. He shot up and flicked the light on beside his table, in the hopes he could catch them by surprise just as they shut the door.

Kokoro jumped slightly and blinked a time or two, nearly cross eyed. By the look of her, she had been in bed, but unable to sleep – her ponytail was frizzy and loose, the side of her face pink from laying on her arm. After a moment, she acclimated, and turned her focus to him.

"Can't sleep?" She queried as she approached the bed.

He nodded, and without waiting for an invitation she settled down beside him. She pulled her legs up to sit across from him, with a strange look in her eye he couldn't quite comprehend. Her stare seemed almost vacant, as though there was something behind him only she could see. It wasn't the first time she had drifted off like that, but he still wasn't certain what to make of it – she preferred to pretend that it didn't happen, rather than acknowledge it when he asked.

"Me neither." She smiled blissfully. "I can't relax. There's so much riding on the next couple of days, plus my head."

"What's the matter?"

She shook her head with a quiet groan. Just as he prepared to demand an answer, she threw herself forward and draped her arms over his shoulders. Her entire body weight landed against his chest with enough force that he fell back – which was apparently her intention, as she settled in right away. She threw her leg over his waist and squeezed his arms into his sides, which forced him into a horribly uncomfortable mockery of his usual sleep position.

"Better."

"What?" He managed to wriggle one arm free from its prison between his ribs and her breasts, and threw it above his head.

"My head. It's better." Her voice was sleepy and content, as if she could drift away any moment. "Being with you always makes it better."

"Kokoro-chan? What are you talking about?"

Her sleepiness – and drunkenness, as she had more than one glass of wine at dinner – left her tongue loose. If he was going to learn about her odd behavior, he stood his best chance in that moment. As he struggled to get comfortable, he tried not to jostle her too much, lest she wake up and realize what he was doing.

"I feel safe." She murmured. "My head always bothers me when there's someone bad around, and it doesn't stop until it's gone. But when you're around I feel safe, so it stops."

"Who's bad?" He asked quietly. "Is it Pegasus-san?"

She grunted and shook her head, but at her angle, it did nothing but press her face deeper into his chest. For a moment, he thought she had passed out, until he felt her lips moving through his shirt. Her words were muffled and unclear, and he pulled her hair back slightly in the hopes her head might follow. She turned her cheek like a cat who desired more affection. As he struggled for the best words to use, he heard the voice of the _other him_ in his ear.

"So, he's evil?"

"Mm-hm. Well, kinda. Bakura-kun's alright. It's just that ring. I think it knows, too."

He paused – the conversation had taken an extremely odd turn. He wondered how many secrets Kokoro could possibly have hidden from him, and why. Of course, he had refused to tell his friends of the spirit in the puzzle, either. Every time he thought about it, he had been filled with fear that they would believe him crazy – did she have the same fear?

"What does it know?"

"That I know. And I don't think it's happy about it."

"And how do you know that?"

She responded with a gentle snore.

Kokoro was gone when he woke up. He didn't see her for much of the morning, not at breakfast and not even on his way to duel against Mai – though she was there to watch, situated as far from Bakura as one could possibly be. She fled as the duel came to a close, and he wondered if he would ever see her again when he found her in his room. She sat on his bed with her deck arranged before her, almost like she had played solitaire with it.

"Pretty low of you to take advantage of me last night."

The slight smile on her face sent all the anxiety out of him in one rush of air. He draped his jacket over the nearby armchair and sat down across from her on the bed. Her cards were arranged as if she was in the midst of a duel – against who, he wasn't sure. She stared at her cards for a moment, removed one from play, and calculated battle damage as if it had just been destroyed. He had tried to prepare for his duel the same way, but it was incredibly difficult to imagine an entire separate deck and strategy while also forming another.

"I think of it like a door. Most of the time it's closed, and I forget it's there. Then I'll do something, like get into a duel, and it opens a little, like someone's peering through before undoing the lock. I'll get the feeling I should play a certain trap card even though I don't _think_ I should, or I'll feel like I'm going to draw a specific card. The more danger I'm in, like if I start to loose, the more it opens, and the more of the message I understand."

She continued to play her one-sided game as she talked. She played _Ante,_ drew _Cosmo Queen,_ and tallied her opponents new life points. He glanced down – her life points were at 1050, and her opponent's at 1000. Whatever deck she envisioned herself up against, they seemed to have a solid defense against her preferred strategy – either they were able to skirt around her ability to funnel attacks at one monster, or her ability to strike directly at life points.

"What happens when it opens all the way?"

"Whatever is on the other side tries to get out."


	4. Chapter 4

Its was unheard of. It went against every rule of the student body for even the least liked third year girl to stoop so low as to date a boy two years her junior. He knew it was all but fact that Kokoro would never so much as know his name, but he couldn't change how he felt. Each day, he stopped to watch her track meet on his way home from class – he was always invisible, not only to her, but to the rest of the students as well.

He finally decided to introduce himself. The puzzle had come through for him, had given him true friends in Jou and Honda – it might come through for him again. There was no harm in trying.

"I said no."

The track team had used hurdles in their practice, and he had seen her disappear into the shed with several of them, and Choukichi right on her heels. Choukichi, pride of the third year males – he had a reputation, one that kept Yugi from envying his looks. Kokoro's brother, and his classmate, Masaru, claimed he had assaulted a girl the year before, when she refused him. His sights had been set on Kokoro for as long as Yugi had been in the school, perhaps longer.

Dread filled him. Rumors didn't start without cause. It might have been someone's lie to get back at him, but there was always that chance that it was the truth. The supposed rapist was alone, with Kokoro.

Part of him wanted to just walk away. Kokoro was strong – she led the Judo club during the track club's off season, didn't she? - and she was brave. But she was also much smaller than Choukichi, weaker, and he could hurt her before she knew what happened. As his cowardice warred with his heart, the two of them began to argue.

"C'mon. This hard to get thing was cute at first, Kokoro-chan, but it's time to give it up."

"There's nothing to give up. I'm not shy – if I wanted you, I would have said so by now." He could practically see her through the wall, arms crossed and stance firm. "I'm not interested. Especially not after what you did to Chise-kun la-."

There was a slap. Something tumbled through the air and landed on a pile of wood and metal. Pieces skittered and banged off of the floor, and before he realized what he had done, Yugi found himself in the doorway of the shed. Kokoro lay sprawled amidst the hurdles, Choukichi above her, hands busy with the tie of his sweat pants. Still conscious, but stunned, Kokoro groaned blearily and looked down, past Choukichi's legs to see him, the tiny, weak first year in the door.

"What are you staring at?" Choukichi mumbled as he turned towards the door. "What are you looking at, boy?"

In all honesty, Yugi had no recollection of the events that followed. He recalled a moment where he intended to say something, then he was in the door as Choukichi cowered and sobbed on the floor. When he stepped forward to try and ask what happened, the once-proud third year screamed and shuffled backward, until he hit the pile of gymnastic mats. Confused by the odd turn of events, he skirted towards the wall, where the half-conscious Kokoro still lay.

Her nose bled slightly, but she was otherwise unharmed. He stooped and offered her his hand, but even when she looked at it, it took a long moment for her to understand. She finally raised her hand, and he struggled not to show that he was hardly able to lift her, as light of weight as she was. In reality, he only offered her leverage to pull herself to her feet.

"I know you." She mumbled. "You're that boy, the one that watches us practice all the time. Yugi, right?"

"That's right. Come on, we have to get you to a doctor."

"I'm fine. He just took me by surprise, that's all. Most of the girls on the Judo team hit way harder."

She sniffled wetly, and blotted her nose with a discarded shirt. When she pulled it away, she happened to catch his eye, and the worried expression on his face. In spite of the blood, which had stained her lips and even her teeth, she grinned at him.

"Come on, Yugi-kun. We should walk home together. I want my hero around if I run into trouble again."


	5. Chapter 5

Yugi had always assumed that he would be well into his adulthood before he kissed a girl. It wasn't for a lack of desire, but he realized that his late bloom into puberty had done nothing to appeal him to women, except in the most childish ways. It was sheer luck that anyone had been able to look past his physical traits enough to even call him their boyfriend – more so that it was Kokoro. Fully developed, and two years his senior, with the ability to choose any boy from their school, and she had picked him.

He had expected that she would want to wait, that she wasn't interested in the physical aspects of a relationship until after he stood at least as tall as her. But he was wrong there, too. It might have bothered him, that she could be attracted to someone who had only just begun to grow body hair, if the few men she dated previously hadn't been in quite the opposite position – and if she hadn't seemed to thrilled to find a thin plain of hair on his chest.

"Congratulations." She cooed from above him. "Oh, Yugi-kun, you're becoming a man."

He tried not to get offended. It was a compliment, of sorts. Jou and Honda had seen fit to make a scene about it earlier in the day, which had embarrassed him far more as nearly every male in his grade – and his gym teacher – had been witness to it. Of course, it was also their fault she had demanded to see in the first place. They – mostly Jou – had loudly joked about Yugi finally growing into a man on their way home.

She continued to pet the soft, almost invisible hairs for a moment, oblivious to his discomfort. Her physical boundaries were much more lax than his own, and she seemed to think nothing of it as she sat astride his stomach and stroked his chest like a cat.

She grinned the kind of grin she reserved for only two scenarios – when she had just done something that would win her a game, or when she was about to say or do something obscene. The last time he saw it had been his birthday, but they had only gone so far as the first few buttons on her blouse – though that may have been due to the untimely arrival of his friends.

"I'm impressed. Practically came in overnight." She shifted off of him, and he thought perhaps the embarrassing conversation was finally over, but her fingertips suddenly slid into the waist band of his uniform pants. "I wonder if you've got hair anywhere else."

"Hey!" He shot upright and grabbed at her arm. Kokoro was much stronger than him – something he liked to pretend was because of her athleticism – and her fingers remained exactly where she put them, curled around the waistband of his pants and underwear. He pulled on her arm, but she refused to budge.

"What's wrong?"

"You don't need to-." He couldn't say the words, and they mashed together into a weird, incomprehensible noise. In response, she wriggled her fingers a little deeper beneath the fabric. "Stop!"

"Why?"

Because he had seen more male anatomy than he ever needed to in the locker room after gym class. The response was on the tip of his tongue, but his pride refused to let the words out. No man could ever admit that he was inadequate. It went against everything in his nature, to tell her that not only did he not measure up to boys his own age, but that her previous lover put him to shame.

Before he could think of what to say, she seemed to come to an answer herself – and shoved her hand fully into his pants. He cried out in both surprise and panic, and nearly leaped backward before he realized what a mistake it would be while still solidly in her grasp. He could do nothing but sit there, hands uselessly wrapped around Kokoro's arm as she took hold of a place previously untouched by anyone but himself.

Her exploration was not sensual, but his body responded regardless, as her hand slipped down to examine the thin layer of hair that refused to bloom farther. Though his body warmed, his head remained cold with terror as she moved back up to investigate the part of him that he feared was so sub-par. She seemed surprised to find that it had grown, and gave an experimental tug that forced a desperate, terrified groan from his mouth.

"Yugi-kun," He braced himself for the inevitable – the _we can't be together_ , the _you're so pathetic_. "I'm impressed!"

"W-what?"

He dared to glance up at her. She hadn't removed, or stopped the motion of, her hand, which made the task incredibly difficult, but he managed to settle his eyes on her face. A pleased grin had broken out over her features.

"Yep! This is good. Your boys are full size, which means you're due for a growth spurt any time. And I don't just mean you'll get taller." She finally, _finally,_ pulled her hand out of his pants, but at that point he wanted her there more than he wanted her gone. "And you're already this size, too. I think congratulations are in order!"

"Y-you're insane!" He shouted, as he was once against shoved back onto his bed. "I didn't realize you were such a pervert."

"Oh, hush."

She straddled him, her weight almost unpleasant on his hips as she worked the buttons of her blouse. The swell of her breast came into view mere moments before the lace of her bra, a sight that knocked any protests from his head. With little regard for the fact that his door was not locked and his grandfather was home – though in the shop, which he couldn't just walk away from – she threw her shirt into the distance.

"Let's celebrate."


	6. Chapter 6

His connection with Yami had grown exponentially in the months since Duelist Kingdom. Rather than ignore the spirit until it took over his body, they were able to communicate – to the degree that Yami was able to project an apparition of himself in the real world. They had gained the ability to speak freely, though the practice was reserved for times when they were alone, lest someone think Yugi had gone insane.

Most of the time they spoke of duels and games, potential dangers and the proper ways to prepare, but their discussion of Kaiba's new tournament had taken an odd turn, when Yugi recalled that Kokoro was invited to compete. They had talked briefly about her chances – which were quite good, if he were completely honest – and of her odd sixth sense for danger, before the topic began to veer off course, through Yami's infinite curiosity. Though he was able to take over the body, and he learned much of what he knew through observation, he did not see everything, particularly during the early months, when he simply responded to Yugi's fear rather than actually observe the outside world.

"Do all men allow their wives to compete in these tournaments?"

For his lack of memories, Yami had a firm grasp on his own concept of relationships. He seemed to believe courtship was an incredibly short ordeal, if it occurred at all – in a year's time, Yami believed they should have been married, and perhaps had a child. Regardless of how many times Yugi explained the rules of contemporary society, Yami continued to act as though Kokoro and his host had married.

"I told you, we aren't married!" Yugi protested, though he flushed at the idea. He had another two years, at the least, before marriage was even an option. "But yes. The rules are different around the world, but for the most part, men and women have equal rights."

"And if the two of you have to duel?"

"I don't know. I guess we would duel. Kokoro-chan has more experience than I do, though, and she's not the type to go easy on anyone. It might be difficult."

"You don't think it will cause problems? If you defeat her – or if she defeats you – won't there be bad blood?"

He hadn't thought about it – but then, he hadn't given much thought to her as a challenger. She had been invited to Duelist Kingdom, and refused. He assumed she would do the same in Kaiba's competition, or perhaps drop out later, if she were forced to duel him or Joey. If they dueled, and she won, he was confident she could hold her own against Kaiba and the other winners, but he would certainly be disappointed. And if he won, wouldn't she be upset? There was no good outcome of a duel between them, at least not one of that much importance. Kokoro may not have been the type to hold a grudge, but he had seen little things become serious problems.

"I'll ask her about it." He replied as he finished with his shirt. "We're going to get lunch later."

"Perhaps I should speak to her. She may become upset, if her husband tells her she can't compete."

"She's not-." He sighed heavily. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Kokoro-chan doesn't like you much."

Yami raised his eyebrows. Kokoro claimed that Yugi – and the spirit in the puzzle – made her feel safe, and yet she didn't like him?

The younger boy could sense his confusion at the somewhat backwards logic, but it was difficult to explain. Kokoro was unusually fickle when it came to the spirit – one minute, she thought he didn't help him enough, the next, she claimed he needed to step in less. Yugi suspected it was because she had never actually spoken to the spirit before, or perhaps it was even because of what she witnessed the day he saved her from Choukichi. She didn't trust him, but she wasn't the type to needlessly hurt someone's feelings, either, and after all the spirit had done for them, he was liable to be offended.

"Perhaps I should spend the day with her." Yami suggested, as though he had read the boy's thoughts. "Kokoro-chan is one of the most important people in your life, and yet she and I know very little about one another."

"I guess. But don't blame me if she gets angry."

An hour later saw Yami, in control of their body, alone in a booth at the coffee shop near Kokoro's apartment. It was a common meeting place, not only for the two of them, but for all of Yugi's friends. Kokoro, who lived only five minutes away, always managed to be late, though the rest of them had a walk that was more than twice as long.

Though he was often behind Yugi's eyes, he had never seen Kokoro in her day off clothes, largely because she never wore them. She spent too much time on the track to bother with anything but athletic shorts and oversized t-shirts, or the occasional pair of jeans when the weather got too cold. With school behind them for the summer – or in her case, for the rest of her life – she exchanged her wardrobe. It wasn't wholly important to him that she was in a flowing blouse and heeled sandals, but it took him by surprise, enough that she was able to pull her chair out from the table before he realized she had moved.

"Where's Yugi-kun?" Her tone wasn't as harsh as he anticipated, but a frown was set on her face that told him she wasn't happy to see him.

"This morning, Yugi-kun and I agreed that you and I should get to know one another." He explained with a cringe – the sugar-filled beverage Yugi was partial to was utterly vile.

"It's gross, isn't it? Miho-chan got Yugi-kun to start drinking those fancy things with lots of sugar. White chocolate something-or-other. When the waitress comes by I'll get you something better."

"Thank you."

Conversation rolled to a halt. The waitress seemed to realize that the usually animated couple were at odds that day, and politely suggested that they go and see the new arcade that had opened. Yami dimly recognized her – she often served Yugi and his friends. She probably knew more about the couple, and their friends, than Yami did.

"We can go if you want." Kokoro suggested. "I'm not really a fan of arcades, but it's what Yugi-kun and I planned to do today anyway."

"You don't like games?"

"The games are fine, but the last time I played Tekken there was snot all over the joystick. Sort of ruined the experience. I'd rather go to the park, honestly."

"We'll do that, then. I've never seen the park."

"No? Yugi-kun and I go there all the time. Aren't you always watching?"

"Not as often as you might think." He replied as they walked onto the street. "It's difficult to explain, but most of the time, I'm inside of the puzzle. It's only recently that I've begun to pay attention to Yugi-kun's life."

They finally came upon the park. The thick crowd on the sidewalk gave way to mostly bare foot paths. Only a stray jogger and another, amorous couple were within the fence. Kokoro led him purposefully towards a bench in a somewhat isolated corner. It sat well away from the occupied bench near the fountain, but not so far that he was unable to enjoy the view. No doubt it had its appeal for a couple who wanted more privacy – though the man and woman on the other bench didn't seem to care about propriety in the slightest.

It was hard not to stare. Thankfully, a security guard from a store nearby had decided to intervene, at the behest of a flustered looking gaggle of older women.

"So you've never seen me naked, then?"

His face flushed before he could stop it. He had never seen her naked, though he suspected that she had been in front of Yugi before. On most occasions, he knew when his host was amorous with his girlfriend, and made himself scarce. Once, however, Yugi's heart had begun to pound so rapidly, and without warning, that he had rushed to the surface to see what had attacked him. The first thing he saw were Kokoro's bare breasts.

"Hah!" She laughed. "You have! I knew it! Wait until I tell Yugi-kun the spirit is a pervert!"

She continued to laugh as he floundered for a defense. Nothing he came up with would make the situation sound any better – he couldn't very well tell her that he had only seen her chest. Her laughter devolved into giggles, and finally, she started to catch her breath. Something in the distance caught her attention, and suddenly all sense of amusement fell from her face.

A young man had one of Kaiba's new Duel Disks on his arm. As a fairly renowned champion, and oddly enough, one of the few people Kaiba seemed to respect, at least to some degree, Kokoro had no doubt received an actual invitation to the tournament, like Yugi had. Most potential competitors had to check with the stores that sold the devices to see if they were on the list.

"Will you compete?" He queried, and she shrugged in response. "It may be best that you don't. You're certainly skilled, but there's bound to be dark forces at work. It odds that you could get hurt..."

"Then Yugi-kun has to drop out, too."

The response surprised him. Kokoro was curt with people quite often, but she had never seemed as angry as she was in that moment. She refused to look at him, but he could see the anger on her face, brows furrowed and lips set in a deep frown. Her fists were even clenched. It was entirely out of character, and he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Yugi-kun has defended me since the day we met, even when it meant he put himself in harm's way. He saved me from Choukichi, won my deck back at Duelist Kingdom. He even stayed up late all week to help me study for final exams. Every day, he does something amazing, and never asks for anything in return. I owe it to him to help."

She was a better woman than he originally gave her credit for. In the past, it seemed like she had hardly returned Yugi's kindnesses, and he could count on one hand all the times she admitted that she cared for him. Much of her affection had been physical, and Yami had secretly feared that it was because she didn't truly care about the boy, but the sheer depth of her confession – not the words, but the tone – told him she did care. She just didn't know how to show it.

"If you compete, neither of you will be able to focus, and it could cost you both dearly." She glanced at him – she had tears in her eyes. "If you want to help Yugi-kun, stay and offer him your support. It will mean more to him to have you by his side."


	7. Chapter 7

There was a subtle shift in the air. A sudden draft, a release of pressure somewhere in the distance. It was different than the influx of competitive energy that sparked like fire crackers against the back of her neck – tightly bound spiritual pressure had been released. She recognized it immediately as the sensation of Yami's spirit as it usurped control of Yugi's body.

No surprise that Yugi was one of the first to duel. He had been one of the first competitors in Duelist Kingdom – it wasn't in his nature to sit idly by and wait for a competitor he thought suitable, and it wasn't in the nature of most of his competitors to let him. And with what he learned in the museum heavy on his mind, Yami no doubt wanted to get his answers as soon as possible.

"Kokoro-kun?" Eiko queried. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Eiko was perhaps the greatest waitress in the history of food service, and steadily more of a friend to both her and Yugi as they frequented her coffee shop. It was unfortunate she had to work while Battle City was on – she had wanted to take Eiko to see the duels, Jou's, in particular. Both she hand Anzu had decided the two of them simply needed to be a couple, and what better way to get them together than take Eiko to cheer for him?

"I should go find Yugi-kun." She sighed as she rose. "Knowing him, he's already gotten himself into trouble."

"How could he? The competition just started."

"It's kind of a talent of his."

They bid one another a good afternoon, before she found herself on the street. Most of Kaiba's chosen competitors were young, either in high school or just graduated, without much experience. She spotted Mai well across the street as she viciously trounced one of the young competitors – after Jou the amateur defeated her at Duelist Kingdom, it seemed as if everyone thought they would have the same luck.

Whatever was bound behind the door hissed and rattled to life the nearer she got to an active duel, no doubt because it sensed potential danger. She'd all but gotten used to the sensation – for days on end, the door had been forced open by the presence of the evil in Bakura's Millennium Ring, and though it had been painful at the time, it had served to callous her psyche to the sensation. The closer she got to Yugi's duel, the more riled up it seemed to get – unusual, as both Yami and Yugi tended to appease it.

Her drink began to run empty just as she came upon Yugi's duel. He was up against a man she didn't recognize – but he brimmed with evil energy. She resisted the urge to cringe as she looked at him, the evil offensive to her eyes like a sudden burst of sunlight. Instead, she turned her attention to Yugi, and sidled up beside Jou, who was oddly quiet.

"What's going on?"

"The creep stole my Red Eyes yesterday, and Yugi's trying to win it back."

"Wow. Lost your rarest card before the tournament even started, huh?"

"Hey, at least I didn't drop out of the competition. You scared I'd beat you?"

She hit him in the chest with the back of her hand. He let out a dramatic "oomph" and rubbed the spot as though she had actually hurt him, before Yugi's duel took a sharp turn.

Exodia – though the monster was incredibly dangerous, any deck that relied on the ability to summon one was one bound for failure. Yugi's challenger hardly stood a chance without the ability to summon the creature's head. The heavy pulse in the back of her head seemed to settle the moment Yugi secured his victory, either because it was pleased by his victory, or because it was content to see Exodia prevented from completion.

"Kokoro-chan." Yami nodded as Jou left to find another duel. "You opted out?"

"Yeah. Like you said, Yugi-kun doesn't need the distraction. Congratulations, by the way. Strong right out of the gate. I like that in a guy."

Yami flushed the same shade of red as the tips of his hair. She snickered happily as they began to walk through the crowds, which had gathered to watch various duels spread over the closed streets. She passed him a warm cup of coffee, and he took a content sip only to cringe – she had gotten the same sugary mess Yugi drank.

"You shouldn't talk like that. You're in a relationship."

"You're the one in his body. I'm allowed to talk however I want."

"I'm not-." Instead of argue, he sighed. "True enough."

"Speaking of, why haven't you changed back?"

"There's danger here. I'm sure you can feel it, too. It's for the best that I remain in control for now."

"Danger is an understatement. It's kind of exciting though."

"How so?"

"Well, the spirit in my head responds to danger. The more danger I'm in, the closer it comes to getting out. Don't get me wrong, I don't _want_ to get into trouble, but maybe I'll finally find out what it is."


	8. Chapter 8

In spite of the relaxed mood of the finalists, there was a heavy weight of suspicion in the air. The presence of Bakura, whose injury was grievous, and the strange behavior of Namu both weighed heavily on the duelists in attendance. There was no way that Marik was the only Rare Hunter in the competition – he was full of confidence, but he wasn't stupid enough to bet everything on himself. There were so many duelists who could be on his side – Bakura, Namu, even the eighth mystery duelist, or perhaps even Jou under Marik's mind control. Kaiba's unusually abrasive behavior did little to help – the God Cards were more important to him than safety, even in regards to his own brother.

The young man was ripped from his thoughts by a knock on his door. He left his cards on the table and rose to answer it – it came as no surprise that it was Kokoro on the other side. She had somehow found his favorite soda, which hadn't been put in his mini-fridge, and handed him one as though it were a peace offering.

"I ran into someone on my way here."

He couldn't tell if her tone was good or bad – her face was a solemn mask and her voice flat. Her only tell was the way she tapped her fingers against her soda bottle, and her nerves began to make him nervous.

"They knew."

He felt Yami surge to life. It seemed as if Kokoro could see him just as easily as he could – her eyes flickered to the cushion where he appeared in his apparition-like form. It was possible she didn't. The other spirit, or Shuujin, as she had begun to call it, responded to his presence, and she could tell them apart when his friends could not – she could easily sense him, through it.

"About Shuujin?"

She nodded slowly.

"Who was it? Marik? What did he say?"

The idea that anyone knew about Shuujin was enough to frighten him and Yami alike. Part of it was the same fear anyone felt when someone important to them was in danger, but the other part was the fear it could be turned against him. Shuujin seemed to ally himself with Kokoro, and trusted those that she trusted – whether it was truly good or evil might not matter if Marik were able to possess Kokoro's mind and make her his slave. The chance that he could take control of something as potentially powerful as Shuujin was enough to make him cringe.

He found it odd that Kokoro had pulled her deck from it's hiding spot in her jacket. She stared at one card for a moment, as though it might reveal a message she hadn't seen before.

"Do you sometimes feel like your cards are something more?"

He paused. Why had she changed the topic?

"Sometimes. When I first found the Dark Magician, I knew it was a card I was meant to have. Why?"

Her expression morphed the longer she stared at the card. Her brow furrowed, and she began to worry her bottom lip as though she might burst into tears. A gust of air blew through her nose, and she dropped the card onto the table. It landed face down, but he hesitated to reach for it.

"I bumped into the eighth duelist. She told me it was time to stop being afraid of myself, that I had to protect not only myself but the people that I love. It got me thinking about you and the spirit. He became a part of you when you got the Millennium Puzzle."

She reached down and lifted the card. She placed it face up and pushed it towards him. It was a monster – a powerful one. The image reminded him of his own God Card, and he realized that the reason he was afraid to flip it over was because of the power that seemed to emanate from it.

"The first time I felt Shuujin's presence was after I added this card to my deck."


	9. Chapter 9

It felt strange to be without Yami, even a year later. Though it had frightened him at first, he had grown used to the presence of the other spirit, and though he knew that Yami was where he was supposed to be, he couldn't help but miss him. After the Ceremonial Duel, his life seemed just as empty, if not more so, than before he found the puzzle. He still had his friends, of course, but as their final year came to a close, even they began to drift.

Anzu had been accepted on a scholarship to a prestigious school in New York. Honda and Shizuka had decided to take a trip around Japan, to catch up on all the sights she had missed, and Ryuji had a business to run. Mai had dragged Jou off to cheer for her at another tournament, and Bakura had taken some time to himself to recover from Zorc's possession. In the end, everyone was gone.

He trudged up the stairs to his home. His grandfather tried to congratulate him on his graduation, but Yugi hadn't been in the mood to listen. He just wanted to lock himself in his room, and mope. It wasn't as though his friends would be gone forever, but the sensation of loneliness was too familiar, and too much, to bear.

He dropped his bag down and began to work the collar of his dress shirt. On his desk was a new puzzle – perhaps it would distract him, at least for a little while.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're the one who graduated today. Why am I getting the strip tease?"

Kokoro. She hadn't changed as much as he expected. Her hair was a bit shorter, and her skin a little more tan – the last few months on vacation with her mother had done her good. She was still dressed like she was about to head out to the beach, in little more than a simple summer dress, and lounged across his bed like a content feline.

"Kokoro-chan? I thought-." That she was never coming back.

When she first told him about the trip, he hadn't worried, but each week she was supposed to return home, only to call and say it was extended, that she had decided to visit another country. Her letters had become less and less frequent, from once a day to once a week, until finally, he hadn't received any at all, and each piece of mail he sent was returned to his door with a claim the courier could not locate her. It was supposed to be a two-week vacation in South America, that turned into a three month expedition.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long. Mom and I got to do all that mother-daughter bonding stuff."

When she realized his dour mood, she pushed herself up and onto her feet in one swift movement. In the time she was away he had grown considerably – rather than stand at her nose, he had claimed more than an inch of height over her, which, although she herself was rather short, was an achievement that would have had him whoop for joy on any other day. It was obvious she expected him to immediately reach for her, and when he didn't, hurt flashed through her eyes, before they filled with irritation.

"Look, I'm sorry. I should have made sure to keep in touch. But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere for a good long while." A grin spread across her face – _that_ grin, the one reserved for mischief or lewd behavior. "I got you something. Several somethings, actually, but they'll keep."

She dragged a suitcase from beneath his bed. It nearly sprang open from the pressure of the clothes inside, various shorts and swimsuits and underwear that made him bubble with jealousy – why wear something that lacy when no one was to see it? Amidst all the fabric, she found a large plastic bag with a language he didn't recognize – English script, but the words were incorrect, and there were accent marks everywhere. It, too, threatened to tear apart from the weight of its contents.

She reached inside of the oversized bag and began to fish around. The first item that she removed was a plastic case with Duel Monsters cards – he scooped it up. On closer examination, he found that they were in another language, several, actually. The second was a necklace with a shark tooth. The third seemed to be what she wanted, and she threw the bag back on top of her suitcase. In her hand, she had a rectangle, wrapped in brown paper.

"What is it?"

"Open it!"

At her behest, he gently tore through the paper, much of his previous hurt forgotten in his curiosity. Beneath lay a book, a rather large one. With the book, she had wrapped a large package of colored tape strips, the kind used to mark pages. He pulled more and more paper back, and stared dumbly at the title. It meant nothing to him, though Kokoro seemed thrilled.

"What is it?"

"Open the book."

He opened to the middle of the book, stared for a moment, then slammed it shut as blood rushed to his cheeks. Kokoro burst into peels of laughter so hearty she fell out of her crouch and onto her back, knees in the air as she struggled to get enough oxygen to make the proper noise. The _Kama Sutra_ – she went all the way to some foreign country, and came back with porn. It probably shouldn't have surprised him.

"W-what's the tape for?"

"So you can mark things you want to try."

He shoved the book off of his lap and onto the bed. Though the book frightened him, it was something of a relief. He had feared that she found someone better, someone tall and handsome with plenty of money to throw around, but to bring him a book that called itself a guide for lovers told him that her intentions hadn't changed in the slightest. He was still the one she wanted to be with.

"Oh, by the way, your grandpa's going to his friends for the night. Big game night, I guess, and he won't be back until late tomorrow. Which means you and I get the whole place to ourselves. It would just be rude not to take advantage."

As she pushed him back onto the bed, he realized that the weight in his chest had gone. It was a part of adulthood, for friendships to drift apart, just as it was for them to find each other again.


	10. Chapter 10

His first impression of the woman in the game shop was that she belonged in a high-end game shop, not because he disliked her but because she gave the impression that she believed Kame Game to be beneath her. She held her fur-collar coat tight around her chest, as though to conceal her pearl necklace, and kept her bag clasped tightly in her hand. Even as she glanced over the shelves of games, she glanced at him as though she expected him to knock her over and grab her purse at any moment.

"Excuse me," The woman called as she skirted around a display. "I'm looking for a birthday gift for my daughter."

"Of course! Do you know what kinds of games she likes? Puzzles, card games perhaps?"

"I'm not sure. She lives with her father, and I'm not much for games, myself. She said this is her favorite shop – I hoped you would know."

He thought of all of his regular customers. Most were pre-teen boys who wanted the latest craze, or old men who sought puzzles and shogi. The only regular females were Anzu and Kokoro, and only the latter shopped more than once in a blue moon.

Upon closer inspection, the woman did resemble his grandson's girlfriend, though only just. They shared the same body type and little else, except for their distinctively wavy reddish hair. Where Kokoro was a trim athlete with sharp, almost European features, the woman before him was a soft, and clearly hailed from a Japanese ancestry – and where Kokoro was laid back and almost flippant, the woman in his shop was high-strung and stern.

"You must be Oshiro-san."

"Nishimura, actually. Nishimura Haruka. Oshiro Takumo is my ex-husband."

"My apologies. Kokoro-chan never mentioned you had separated. I am Muto Sugoroku."

She made a distant hum as she looked over the recent arrangement of digital pets. None seemed to appeal to her, and she turned away to look at the wall of puzzles behind him. If she hadn't said it, he wouldn't have believed she was related to Kokro – the young woman was never that rude. Finally, the woman looked back towards him, a frown set firmly in place.

"I know she plays that card game, Duel Demons?"

"Duel Monsters. Yes, we have quite a selection of cards, actually, if you'd like to have a look. I know of several that she's had her eye on."

He didn't miss the woman's obliviousness to his grandson's relationship with her daughter, either. He might have been annoyed Kokoro kept Yugi a secret from her family, but the longer he spent with the woman, the more he was certain she would do everything in her power to separate them, and Kokoro's lie of omission was obviously not because she was ashamed.

He pulled the case of cards from beneath the glass display case. Each time Kokoro came into the store, she paused to peruse the Duel Monsters selection, though she never purchased anything, as much as it was obvious that she wanted to. When he mentioned it to Yugi, the young boy had admitted Kokoro would have bought them, if she could afford it. Yugi himself had thought about buying them for her with the money he earned in the shop, but had decided against it at the last minute, at his grandfather's urging to get her something more memorable and lasting.

The woman hummed somewhat thoughtfully as she looked them over, then picked up an Amazoness Queen card to investigate it. It wasn't one Kokoro would want – she already had one, in fact. Though he had never seen her duel, Yugi had told him more than enough about her deck for him to have a solid grasp on her strategy, and what cards would most benefit her. Unlike his grandson, who preferred a somewhat basic strategy of trap defense and bolstering magic, Kokoro had built her deck to defend her own life points while striking directly at the opponents.

"If I may..." He began, plucking six cards from the display. "Kokoro has been after these for some time."

 _Choose One, Amazoness Village, Acid Rain, Curse of Darkness, Time Machine,_ and _Zoma the Spirit Trap_. The woman looked them over, her face curled with derision, but eventually nodded. She sat her purse on the table, but made no move to produce a wallet – he wondered if she expected him to give a discount, when she started to speak.

"I..." Her voice seemed to break. "I need a favor, actually. I'll take the cards, of course, and...I need you to help me."

He paused, caught entirely off guard. She pulled the Amazoness Queen card again, and placed it on the counter beside the others.

"My divorce..." She sighed. "It took its toll on my relationship with my daughter. For the longest time, she hated me, and we've only just begun to speak again. Because of that boyfriend of hers, of all people – Yugi, I think his name was. I can't pretend to know what drew Kokoro to him, but it's obvious why she cares so much for him. He's very sweet, even after the awful things I said to him."

They both paused – she breathed deeply as she collected herself, while Sugoroku was struck silent. He had known his grandson had a big heart, but to reunite an estranged mother and daughter – particularly when Kokoro, judo champion and stubborn as a mountain, was that daughter – was unbelievable. After a long moment of shuddering breaths, the woman finally schooled her face back into a semblance of her previous, impassive mask, though her lips still quivered. A tear ran down the side of her face, a soft track of ruined make up in its wake.

"I don't pretend to know the first thing about my daughter. But I want to. Rebuilding our relationship has been difficult, to say the least. We have nothing in common, and it seems whenever we talk it devolves into an argument. But Kokoro loves this game, doesn't she? That boy, Yugi, told me they play it all the time."

She pushed the Amazoness Queen towards him, suddenly a strong as she had been when she entered the store. Sugoroku suddenly saw more of Kokoro in her – or, more appropriately, more of her in Kokoro – than he had ever imagined. Estranged as they may have been, Kokoro inherited much from her mother beyond their build and hair. They shared the same intensity, a fire behind a carefully schooled stone mask.

"I'd like you to build me a deck, around this card. I may not understand Kokoro's obsession with this game, but...if it will bring us closer, I'll learn to love it too."


	11. Chapter 11

Anzu wasn't sure what to make of the upperclassman Yugi suddenly spent his time with. It had been cute when it was just an unrequited crush between a young, shy student and the outgoing head of the track team, but once Kokoro started to spend time with Yugi, it seemed weird. The age difference was only a matter of a couple years, but it felt like decades between them whenever Anzu thought about it. Kokoro was fully developed, easily one of the most mature in her grade, both mentally and physically, where Yugi hardly looked like he had graduated elementary grades, and his meek personality often matched.

It seemed innappropriate, to say the least.

And Yugi was reasonably certain most of the student body would agree, which was what led him to respectfully ask that his friends not tell anyone about their relationship. They had only found out through luck – if Jou hadn't spotted them hand-in-hand in the park, the entire group would no doubt have been left in the dark for a long time. Yugi wasn't ashamed, and he claimed Kokoro wasn't either, but he had begged them anyway, for the sake of Kokoro's reputation, to keep quiet.

It sounded like a flimsy excuse to her. Any woman who asked her boyfriend to downplay their relationship had to be ashamed of something, whether she admitted to it or not. It wasn't fair of her to play that game with Yugi, who was still so naïve he would believe anything she told him. He couldn't know that women who kept their relationships quiet were ashamed of their lovers, and in spite of Anzu's attempts to warn him, Yugi didn't seem to want to listen.

She had told him a half dozen times that it seemed odd Kokoro would ask him to keep the relationship secret, but Yugi always replied that it was his idea. A bad reputation could ruin her chances of acceptance into a good college, and though the logic was sound, she couldn't help but feel it was an excuse. Whenever she asked Yugi to invite her along to an outing, he always showed up alone with yet another excuse as to why she couldn't make it. At first Anzu had humored him, but as the months wore on, and still the school was none the wiser, she took measures into her own hands to prove Kokoro was nothing but a user, who had taken advantage of poor Yugi.

The start of her gym period coincided with the end of the third year's free period, during which Kokoro's team often ran the track for practice. She had tried and failed to confront Kokoro alone a dozen times in the past weeks, and she was left with no other alternative than one she would rather not employ.

"I heard Hideki-kun asked you to the dance." One of the track team giggled. "What did you say?"

"No."

There was a round of giggles and gasps. Hideki was another third year – handsome like no one had a right to be, and head of the male soccer team and student body president. They had dated through their first and second year, but the rumor mill maintained that Kokoro broke it off over the summer before their third year. No one knew why, but things seemed amicable between them, though Hideki seemed a bit hung up, in Anzu's opinion.

"What? Why?"

"I broke up with him last summer. Why would I want to go to the dance with him now?"

The girls chastised her, at first for her refusal then again for the break up, though all in good natured fun. The conversation eventually turned to the dance itself, which was a once a year formal for all grades. It was an American-style dance, one which most schools didn't allow, where the third year students picked a theme and decorated the auditorium accordingly. The school allowed it, as the students were responsible for everything, from the music to the food, and it was considered an exercise in budgets and financial planning for the real world. They did fundraisers all year long in preparation, and anyone who maintained a respectable grade average and attendance was allowed to attend or help out.

"Are you going alone, then?"

"I don't know." Kokoro shrugged as she pulled on her socks.

"You don't know? How can you not know? The dance is at the end of the week!"

"I haven't asked him yet."

There was a flurry of questions from Kokoro's teammates, and the other girls in the room who knew her. They were desperate to know who the mystery man could be. Names were thrown out at random, only to be shot down, but she seemed disinterested in revealing the name of the boy she planned to take to the dance.

"Is it Yugi-kun?"

All eyes turned to Anzu. Her query had been quiet, but it seemed like the entire locker room heard, and everyone immediately feel silent. Kokoro seemed especially surprised, as if she didn't realize Anzu knew about them, or that she would say anything if she did. One girl from the back finally piped up.

"Yugi Muto? The first year?"

Anzu didn't see the totality of the carnage she wrought, but she saw enough.

Kokoro's friends all laughed, at first, as they assumed it was some sort of joke. They chuckled and asked if she was just doing him a favor, and one even insinuated that it was a date for pay. Then they realized the serious look on Kokoro's face.

Fujiwara Ikue called her a pervert, a creepy old hag who preyed on little boys, and slapped her across the face before she stormed out of the room. Half the team followed. Anzu immediately felt guilty, more than she ever had in her life, as Kokoro stood and stared dumbly at the door with a bright red mark across her cheek. Of the few girls who remained, none approached her, and a wave of gossip soon overtook the school.

By the time gym class was over, all anyone could talk about were Kokoro and Yugi. Where Yugi received mixed responses – congratulations from the males and a strange mixture of sympathy and curiosity from the girls – Kokoro received nothing but disdain. Classmates visibly cleared out of her way as she entered the main lobby of the school, and one particularly cruel girl whose locker was below hers spat on the ground between her loafers.

By the end of the week, Kokoro had been removed from the dance commission, and there were rumors that she could loose her place as head of the track and judo teams. Someone even claimed that she faced potential disciplinary action for "conduct unbecoming", and if she didn't call it off with Yugi, she faced expulsion. One particularly nasty teacher even started a petition amongst the staff that the "pervert" be dropped from her advanced level classes, and began to fail her assignments for mistakes that didn't exist.

"Kokoro-sempai?"

It wasn't half as hard to find her alone anymore. Rejected by most of her peers, Kokoro took her lunch in a quiet section of the hall, near the library. Anzu had feigned ill to seek her out during class. Her expression was completely unreadable – flat, in all possible ways, not unlike the plain white masks they used as bases in art class.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry for what I said. I wasn't thinking. Yugi-kun told me a dozen times that he was afraid something like this would happen and I still outed you like that. I never meant to get you into any trouble."

"If you hadn't said something, everyone would have found out at the dance anyway."

She pulled up from her bow to see a bright smile on Kokoro's face.


	12. Chapter 12

The entire hall fell silent.

Conversation ground to a halt as what was most likely the most curious scene in the entire school's history began to unfold. Even Jou and Honda, who had nearly come to blows over Jou's complete disregard for his cleaning duties, stopped short and stared down the hall. Yugi, too short to see over them, wriggled between them to catch a glimpse of what had everyone's rapt attention.

Kokoro.

And, more importantly, not merely Kokoro, but Kokoro as she stared at the mess at her feet. She had just opened her locker, and as she did he knew her uniform had been clean and tidy, as it always was. Then, he supposed, she opened the door, and suddenly, she was filthy. Some sort of liquid – muddy water, maybe, since it didn't smell, or soda – had sprayed down the entire front of her uniform, as well as her face and hair, across her school bag. On the floor lay dozens of slips of paper, and as he hurried forward, he caught a few of them.

 _Slut._

 _Freak._

 _Pervert._

He knew it was Eri and Yuri's doing immediately, as they began to snicker first, before nearly everyone in the hall burst into laughter at the prank. Only a few faces remained unamused – himself, Kokoro, Honda and the others, and to his surprise, Ikue and Hideki. As if unperturbed by the whole affair, Kokoro crouched down and began to scoop up the slips of paper amidst the laughter and mockery. He stooped down to help her, and caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes.

Anzu crouched down on Kokoro's other side and offered to help clean her up, as if she could sense that the other girl was ready to burst into tears. Kokoro refused, silently, and continued to funnel all the papers into a neat pile. Jou and Hideki moved forward to gather the rest, while Ikue, too, tried to urge Kokoro into the bathroom to wash up. It was noble, in theory, but no doubt the other girls would follow and listen at the door for the first sob to break through.

Someone – Eri, maybe, definitely a girl at least – called out that now Kokoro really was a dirty whore.

It didn't make sense. Yugi understood, at least a little, that it was strange, to see him and Kokoro together. He was young, and small, and had only just hit the start of puberty. Kokoro was fully developed, mature. But he was still fifteen, and she was only two years his senior. The thought of them being intimate – sex being on the forefront of nearly every mind at the school, nearly all the time – was a bit disturbing, he could admit that as well, but they hadn't. Kokoro had touched him, certainly, and he had touched her, but they had never progressed beyond one another's hands, beyond learning what the other person's body had in store for them in the future.

He wanted to say something, anything, that would make them all shut up. Kokoro didn't deserve their abuse. He didn't want their misguided sympathy. But nothing came to mind. Nothing he could say, true or otherwise, would make it stop. It would only get worse, especially for her.

Then, of all people, Seto Kaiba stepped through the crowd.

Everyone fell silent once again as he stooped, put down his briefcase, and took the pile of insults from Kokoro's hands. With his face set in a perfectly stoic mask, betraying none of what he thought, he walked them over to the trash. Then came back, and pulled Kokoro up by the shoulder, while he grabbed both of their bags.

Everyone – even Yugi – was stunned by the situation. Kaiba was never kind, not to anyone, not even to those who considered him a friend. He was cruel, and delighted in other people's misery. He was not the sort to help someone, particularly not someone like Kokoro, who was by and large beneath his notice. They had talked a few times, briefly, near the start of the year, and there had been some rumor that Kaiba and Kokoro were going to be the school's power couple, now that she had left Hideki, but nothing had ever come of it, and Kokoro told Yugi much later that Kaiba only talked to her about her father, whose resume had landed on his desk late that summer. They'd shared a few duels sometime after that, but as far as anyone, even Kokoro, knew, Kaiba was less than concerned with her existence.

Sternly, Kaiba led Kokoro, still silent and focused on the floor, towards the door. Outside, Kaiba's usual limousine was waiting for him, door already opened in anticipation of his presence.

"This woman," Kaiba announced as he held the door ajar, Kokoro safely outside. "Has done nothing to deserve your abuse. If this happens again, I will personally see to it those responsible will _never_ find work, in this city or any other."

Then they left. At the last minute, Yugi had the presence of mind to run after them, but the limo had already shut, and pulled out of the lot.

In the limo with Kaiba, Kokoro was stunned, yet again, as a shirt was thrown in her direction. Where Kaiba had pulled it from, she wasn't sure, but he was, after all, a CEO _and_ a student – logic would dictate he kept spare clothes in case a meeting or emergency pulled him from school. It was plain, a simple navy button down, but Kaiba was tall and it was easily as long as her uniform skirt.

She glanced at him, and found he had gotten comfortable, ankle crossed over his knee, and turned his attention to the window. Wary of her own reflection, she stripped down only to her undershirt, turned away, and pulled the shirt tight around her before she worked her tank top and skirt off.

"I'll have a new uniform brought to the house while you shower." He announced. "I'm certain your brothers will tell your father regardless, but I won't send you home looking like a drowned rat."

She wanted to say thank you, but Kaiba wasn't the sort to accept that kind of thing. He would scoff and brush it off. It was replaced with the compulsion to ask him why he had intervened, but that, too, would just irritate him – one did not question Seto Kaiba's motives, and expect anything but anger in return. Instead, the ride lapsed into silence. Kaiba turned his head forward, but didn't look at her directly, and though she glanced at him, she kept her attention on the world outside the tinted window.

A thought hit her, and she pulled her cellphone from her school bag – it was soaked, as were most of her books and papers.

"I'll have them replaced." Kaiba announced, and she spun to look at him. "Your books, and your phone. Your bag too. It's beyond hope."

"You don't..." She caught herself, before she told Kaiba what to do, even though she wanted to tell him he didn't need to replace anything.

Her father worked for him, now. Kaiba Corp paid well, but there were also three unemployed children to take care of, as well as the added expense of Masaru's recent hospital visit for appendicitis. They didn't have the money to spare on a new uniform or on text books, especially. Or her cell phone, which was beyond hope, even with all the tricks people had. The water damage might dry out, but the sticky sugar wouldn't be undone.

They pulled up to the manor, and Kaiba politely let her out of the car first, before he led her inside. Mokuba wasn't home yet, though he would be soon – Kaiba reminded himself to tell his brother _not_ to ask if she was his new girlfriend as he led her into a guest room to shower. He heard her pick up the phone almost immediately, definitely to call Yugi and tell him Kaiba's sudden weirdness hadn't led to sexual assault or a kidnapping.

Yugi wasn't home, but she left a message with his grandfather that she was alright and would be home soon. This send Sugoroku into a flurry of questions about what happened, but she told him to ask Yugi when he gave him the message and hurried to hang up. She showered briefly, and hopped out when the tears threatened to fall again. She had been strong from the start, but each day was a little more difficult than the last, as her armor wore heavier on her bones.

The prank was nearly the last straw.

Kaiba didn't say much of anything as they sat – her in his button down, him in a pair of grey slacks and a plain white shirt himself – in the living room and waited for the new uniform to arrive. He had sent Mokuba's driver, apparently, to pick up everything before he came home with his brother, rather than actually wait for a delivery, for which he would most likely have to bribe someone, given the hour. Kokoro, too, sat in silence.

Then, Kaiba chuckled.

"I thought about it, you know." He announced suddenly, apparently amused by whatever thought crossed his mind – she glanced over, curious. "I'm sure most everyone in the school did. Until recently, you were considered the most desirable girl in the district."

She flushed – she hadn't realized _at all_ that was what he meant. She knew about the rumors that flitted around in the early months of school, but Kaiba had never flirted with her. He only wanted her to justify why her father would be a worthwhile addition to his company, and, after he learned she dueled, they had the occasional game. After he attacked Yugi's grandfather, however, any inkling of friendship she may have had was squashed.

"I was to busy to date." He clarified. "It didn't seem worth the time. But I considered it. You certainly aren't the type to demand my attention, or my wallet."

He chuckled again.

"And now Yugi has you. Seems he's beaten me again."


	13. Chapter 13

Uoya Makoto – the bane of every high-school boy's existence.

That was what Jou called the new boy, anyway, from the first time they passed him in the hall. Makoto was perfect – tall, handsome, athletic with the highest marks in his class. It seemed as if every straight girl in the school swooned the second he deigned to glance in their direction. He had transferred in the middle of the year, just after winter break, ostensibly because his school didn't offer the advanced level classes Domino did.

Every boy in a relationship found themselves worried – even Yugi.

Not that Kokoro had ever given him any indication there was anything at all to be concerned about. Whenever they were in the same room, she barely spared a glance at her classmate, and if Yugi was around, she made it a point to be more affectionate than ever, a hand permanently placed on his shoulder or her body pressed into the side of his own, as though she knew he was worried and wanted to reassure him.

But she and Makoto were both in their third year, just a few months away from college – and both had gotten scholarships to To-Oh. They were both head of their respective athletic teams – judo/track, and fencing, respectively – though Makoto lost the position when he transferred. He was even a duelist, too, in his spare time. They were, at least on paper, perfect for one another, and hard as he tried, Yugi couldn't shake the thought that Kokoro would soon wise up and realize it.

He found them in the library. That wasn't particularly odd – Kokoro had texted him to let him know she was going to study, and he could either meet up with her or go home on his own, to which he had automatically agreed to stay with her and give her practice questions. The practice entry exams were about to start, and though Kokoro had a scholarship, that came only if she successfully passed To-Oh's notoriously difficult exam. He was confident she could pass, but she was up late with her nose in a book nearly every night.

Whether she invited Makoto – which wouldn't be so odd, since they had to take the same exam – or he had just showed up, Yugi wasn't sure, but he didn't like it either way. Kokoro was engrossed in her book, focused on it as she jotted down notes with one hand, while Makoto pretended to read his, but every few lines blurted out a joke or derisive comment, about the content or the author. He could see Kokoro's eyebrow twitch in irritation, but she gave no other signs she even heard the other man.

She only glanced up when he sat his book bag down at their table. She smiled at him, a soft, content smile reserved for him and him alone, as her hand stopped its furious scribbles and she finally pulled her eyes away from her text. Whatever she was so focused on in the book was set aside for him.

His heart fluttered.

Makoto, on the other hand, furrowed his brow.

"Yugi-kun," She seemed to ooze relief. "Glad you made it."

"I'm sorry," Makoto interrupted. "But I don't think we've met. Uoya Makoto."

Yugi hesitated – he had seen Makoto's stare, but now the upperclassman grinned at him as if he just made a new friend. Anzu might call him paranoid, but he didn't trust that smile – at all.

"Mutou Yugi." He replied cautiously – Kokoro eyed them skeptically as she returned to her work.

There was a pause, as the two stared at one another across the table. Kokoro had returned to her insane scribbles, half of which he couldn't read. Her strange version of short hand never made sense to him – why was there a fire next to the word _goat_? - but it worked for her. All the times they talked about various games, like Duel Monsters or Capumon, she tended to remember what the monsters looked like in great detail, but rarely their names or effects. He felt oddly proud that he knew that much about her – he knew more about her than Makoto, who certainly acted like they were old friends. Or lovers.

"So you're...Kokoro's brother, then?"

Kokoro paused, stared at the table through her hair, then continued to scribble. Both of them had known the moment would come, sooner rather than later, that Makoto learned about their relationship, especially when he made efforts to get close to her. Yugi only hoped he didn't fly into a disgusted rage like so many others had, although much of that had been quelled, between time as new gossip arose and Seto's odd, but timely, intervention – and his abrupt confession, which had, oddly enough, seemed to turn their mutual disregard into a weird, vague sense of friendship.

Yugi didn't want to be the one to say it. People always seemed to take it far less seriously, most likely because anyone he did tell usually thought he was ten and she was his baby sitter. Kokoro, obviously, didn't want to say it either – people tended to fly into disgusted rages.

"I'm her boyfriend."

Makoto paused – then burst into loud enough guffaws of laughter that the librarian came by and hushed them. Even still, he couldn't get himself together, and continued to snicker into his hand for several long, miserable minutes – Yugi flushed and looked down, embarrassed, and Kokoro glared at her classmate through her veil of hair. At long last, after several knee slaps and his skin turning a bizarre shade of plum, the handsome upperclassman managed to get enough air to speak.

"That's cute, kid. Really. But I'm serious. Is she your baby sitter or something? I didn't think a high school kid would need one, but -."

"Yugi. Is. My. Boyfriend." Kokoro snapped, as her pencil dug into her paper. "And before you say anything, yes, he's really fifteen. I don't know why it's so hard for everyone to understand that two people are capable of having a relationship that doesn't completely revolve around their genitals."

Makoto had struck a nerve, and both boys knew it. Kokoro would be in a nasty mood for a while, and Yugi would have to tread carefully through the minefield of her temper all night, and possibly into tomorrow. While she never blew up at him the way she might other people – which was relatively rare – she could ignore him like nothing else if he said the wrong thing. That had happened more and more recently, he noticed, as the school year began to wind to a close. She would get irritated, and apologize an hour later, and of course he would forgive her, because he knew she didn't mean to take whatever else was on her mind out on him, and it would change once she finally finished school.

Makoto remained silent, his eyes on one of them, then the other, then back again. Kokoro, too angry now to study properly, slammed her book shut an instant later and threw it into her bag before she shot up from the table. Yugi hopped out of his chair quietly, Makoto's green eyes on them the entire time, as he stood by her side and let her take out some of her frustration on her school supplies with vicious shoves. Then, to her surprise, she took his hand.

"Come on, Yugi. I've had enough of studying for a while. Let's go back to your house, you can show me that game you were talking about."

Then she smiled at him, that serene, content smile that she only ever gave to him, and he relaxed. Her temper might still get the better of her, but he would deal with that when it happened. More relaxed than he had been all week, he swung their arms slightly as the walked towards the exit.

"Do you want to stop and get ice cream first?"

"Ooh, yes. You know just what to say to me."

Makoto sat at the table, stunned. Had that gorgeous young woman really just walked away from him with that runt? All week, he had thought she was just a professional when it came to playing hard to get, but it was obvious now that wasn't the case. She didn't want him – him, Uoya Makoto – but she wanted that runt of a boy who was all blushes and smiles whenever she gave him just the slightest bit of attention.

That was it, Makoto realized. Kokoro didn't want the runt. She just wanted someone who wanted her, someone who would do whatever she said. It wasn't really his style – he liked to be the one in control – but he could play that game, too.

He'd have Kokoro under his arm before the week was out.


	14. Chapter 14

Each day seemed to leave him more frustrated than the last.

Oshiro Kokoro – the single girl in Domino High worthy of him – continued to deny him, all for that precious little runt of a first year. He had tried to play the part of whipping boy, of boyishly cute, and each time he threw her a compliment she leveled him with the same bored stare she gave everyone else. The gifts - the flowers, were returned to his desk with the announcement she was allergic, the chocolates, which the thought she finally accepted, ended up in the paws of her shadow's friends, the card she had just thrown over her shoulder with a sigh.

She spurned him at every turn, and all for Yugi.

Yugi, who stood only as tall as her stomach. Yugi, who sat inside and played with puzzles. Yugi, who couldn't even look her in the eyes without turning into a tomato. The first year, with no athletic prowess to speak of, with average grades, with no future, with that stupid boyish face and squeaky voice.

She wanted him. Not Makoto, not the boy her own age, who's looks matched her own, who shared the same interests and hobbies, who was even going to the same, prestigious college. Makoto could give her the world if she asked for it, but she didn't want it.

It made him insane.

He was the one for Kokoro, not that brat. Him. They were perfect for each other and she just couldn't see it.

The door opened.

Kokoro's head shot up out of the warm spray of the shower as ice cold air swirled through her veins. Metal on metal shrieked, desperate, angry, an inarticulate message that told her to run. _Run and get the boy. Run and get the boy._

 _Run and get the boy._

Someone's shoes were soft against the tile floor – not Yugi, whoever it was, they were too heavy, their stride too long. Not one of the girls, either, they walked on the balls of their feet, not the heel. She stayed still, under the hot spray of the shower even as chills ran up her spine, as she cautiously watched their vague reflection in the glossy tile wall and waited for them to make a move, but they just stood there, as if they hadn't realized she heard them approach. And maybe they hadn't, maybe she wouldn't have heard, lost in her own world under the thundering pipe, if Shuujin hadn't been drawn from his prison in the back of her mind and shrieked.

A hand fell onto her back, on top of her little tattoo – her little Kuriboh, some stupid little friendship thing she had done with Anzu for the other girl's sixteenth birthday. Too big to be Yugi, too soft to be Jou, Hideki, or Honda – though they'd never do anything that creepy in the first place – and too short fingered to be Seto, who, while not prone to doing strange and disturbing things, may have gone insane with some sort of work-related incident.

"Oh, Kokoro..."

Makoto.

Shuujin raged now, barely within his cage, a prisoner shaking their bars in a desperate last bid for freedom. _Get the boy, get the boy, get the boy_.

What boy? Yugi? Why, of all people, did Shuujin want her to get Yugi? He was too small and too weak to put up much of a fight – he'd just end up being beaten himself before Makoto went on with his sick plan against her. But then...Shuujin was always quiet, when Yugi was there, even when the beast had only moments earlier been in a rage. Yugi always quelled its fury.

Yugi made _Shuujin_ feel safe.

She tried to act calm. Kept her breath steady, tried not to seem anything except pleasantly surprised as she turned to face the intruder. Then she kneed him in the crotch.

"Yugi!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran for the door, and prayed the sound made it to him through the open window as a hand latched around her ankle. Her body slapped to the wet, unforgiving floor, wracked with fresh aches and pains as her bones jarred against it and her teeth cracked together. Desperate, she flipped onto her back and kicked out at the offending arm, unable to find leverage against the floor. He grabbed her other ankle, and she screamed again, and inarticulate cry of despair and fear as she was pulled under him and Shuujin chanted.

 _Gettheboygettheboygettheboy._

The door slammed – not the one inside of her, but from just outside the showers. The desperate chant became instead a twisted laugh that made her skin want to crawl off of her body just to get away from it. In the distance, she could hear Yugi scream her name.

Then silence.

She dared to open her eyes.

Wherever she was, it was not the locker room – not exactly. The walls had morphed into a red-black miasma that curled around like a dome, the air thick and heavy and cold. The tiles remained, but even they weren't the same, black veins crawled through the peach tiles like worms, slow moving creatures just beneath the surface. Still stunned by the blow, she managed only to roll back onto her stomach, ignoring the aches of deep red-purple bruises that were sure to form, desperate to get a better look at what had happened.

Makoto stood some feet in front of her – Yugi, at a distance that might have been the door to the showers that no longer existed in the strange black cloud. But something was off about him. He seemed to stand taller, broader shouldered, a confident smirk across his suddenly grown face, as if he had aged ten years inside of a few moments. For a moment, they paused, stared one another down in spite of Makoto's obvious fear, then Yugi removed his jacket and tossed it in her direction.

"Cover yourself, Kokoro-chan." Even his voice had changed, more assured, more masculine, and it gave her pause before she got onto her knees and pulled the jacket tight around her.

Then Yugi turned his attention back to Makoto.

"Where are we? What's happening?" Makoto demanded, the panic clear in his voice even as he tried to hide it.

"We're going to play a game." Yugi announced, with an air of nonchalance.

"A game?"

"The rules are simple," Yugi continued, completely unperturbed by the interruption. "All you must do is free Kokoro-chan."

With no warning, she found herself in a box – a glass cage, the likes of which she had only seen in magic shows on television. She screamed as it pulled her high into the air, higher than the limitations of the school, but the sound seemed to travel only off of the glass around her, back into her ears at a higher volume than it had been before. Two ropes extended before her from two invisible points above in the miasma, lashed to two powerful metal pegs in the ground by a series of knots.

Yugi continued to speak, but she could hear nothing except her own breath as it rushed through her lungs, the thrum of her own heart in her chest. Whatever the rules were, she could only guess, but each boy below took up a post at their own rope. A massive clock face formed out of nothingness behind her, and the cage seemed to vibrate with each tick that she couldn't hear.

Shuujin laughed.

 _A Shadow Game..._

She could feel him there, as though he stood just over her shoulder, cold breath on her neck, but as she spun around, she saw nothing. But he was still there, just out of her peripheral vision, a presence that would not be shaken. She didn't understand. Not the miasma that had formed, not what had changed in Yugi, nothing. She couldn't comprehend anything.

 _And with you as the prize..._

 _Clever boy._


	15. Chapter 15

The sun had gone down, and the food had gone cold. Sugoroku sat across the table from his grandson, the air heavy and dour, as the clock above them continued to tick by. The cake still sat on the table, candles unlit, _Congratulations_ scrawled in the boy's messy script in blue icing, but as time wore on, it seemed to deflate, just as his grandson sank deeper into himself.

Yugi had planned the night for weeks. Kokoro had passed To-Oh's notorious entry exams, and won a full scholarship in the process, and his grandson had kindly wanted to celebrate. Though no chef, he had spent the day in the kitchen, cook book propped against the counter as he tried, and most succeeded, to make her favorite dishes. Gifts from their friends littered the far end of the table, wrapped in brightly colored papers and bows. A few violet balloons gently twisted and turned beside them, beneath a hand painted banner.

But the seat of honor sat empty.

Kokoro had not called, not to Yugi's phone or the house, or even sent a brief message to explain her absence. She merely vanished. She had stated she was going to her mothers that day for a party, and Yugi had known it would be superior to anything he could put together, but he had hoped she would keep her word and be there that night. The three of them could have dinner, open presents – they had even made up the guest bed, the Sugoroku was fairly confident she would just sleep in Yugi's the way she always did that they thought he didn't know about, so they could join their friends early that morning to go to the amusement park.

There was a loud bang on the shop door that startled them both.

Sugoroku rose slowly from his seat, reluctant to leave his grandson, who would likely burst into tears the moment he was alone. But he had plans to go with his friends that night that he hadn't remembered to cancel in light of the new situation, and he was reluctant to leave them out in the dark, with rain on the way. With a final glance at his crestfallen grandson, he reluctantly wandered downstairs to tell his friends he would not be able to join them.

It had started to rain, sometime recently, and everything beyond the threshold was already soaked to the marrow by the downpour. Thunder cracked somewhere in the distance as the storm closed in to pass over the city.

And to his surprise, it was Kokoro, who stood in the pouring rain, in a red designer dress that wilted against her as though it were offended to be subjected to such weather. Her hair had been done up, but spilled out of its careful coiffure to glue itself to the sides of her face and neck. She panted lightly, feet bare and a pair of pumps with a broken heel pinched between her fingers. Seeing them, he glanced down, and noticed with alarm that her right ankle was bruised and had begun to swell.

She didn't wait for him to invite her in. She half ran, half limped, towards the stairs, and managed to take them two at a time even as she hobbled up the narrow stairwell, ruined shoes thrown to the side. A backpack banged off the wall and fell like a boulder to lay beside them.

With a sigh of relief, he scooped up her hastily neglected things and followed her upstairs at a much more leisurely pace.

Yugi was wrapped up in her arms, and tried valiantly – and failed – not to cry. She nursed her injured leg as she embraced him, crushed his face into her chest and muttered some half-crazed apology. Sugoroku smiled to himself as he watched them, then turned away to give them some privacy. Her shoes, he noticed, were beyond hope – the long heel had been snapped off and the red color had been scraped down to the gray skeleton beneath. The bag, half open, contained some clothes that were still mostly dry.

"Kokoro-chan," Sugoroku called lightly. "Why don't you go change while Yugi and I reheat dinner?"

He didn't call attention to her ankle, but Yugi warily eyed her new gait as she moved to take her bag with a quiet thank you and vanished down the hall. Saying nothing, but quietly pleased, he gathered up the dishes that had once been warm over to the microwave. Yugi sat for a minute, stunned, before he gathered his wits and came to help.

Kokoro came out a minute later, and threw herself down into the decorated chair, exhausted. Sugoroku ushered Yugi out with a promise he could handle the microwave on his own.

"My mom's impossible." Kokoro murmured, head lolled back. "I've been trying to leave since early this afternoon, but there was always _one more person_ I had to meet. When it got close to four, we got into a knock down drag out when I tried to leave – she went on and on about how she spent so much time putting together this party and..."

She trailed off with an irritated sigh.

"She wouldn't call a car, and dad's still at work. I ran home, but I forgot to take my stupid shoes off, and my heel broke, and I had to run all the way home and all the way here with my stupid ankle being...stupid."

Sugoroku came out with the plates, and a bag of frozen peas draped over his arm. He urged her to put her ankle up in his chair and ice it – and silently prayed it was only a bad sprain and not actually broken. There was another knock downstairs, and he politely excused himself to go join his friends. As he left, Kokoro continued to recline, eyes closed and head lolled back as her chest heaved and she worked to catch her breath as the adrenaline wore off.

"Yugi," She finally called. "You know you didn't have to do all this, right?"

"I know. But I wanted today to be special."

She smiled, a broad, lopsided grin, and blindly reached out for his hand. When she found it, she squeezed gently with a soft sigh. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, she leaned forward and piled an assortment of food onto her plate in one haphazard pile. Though she had eaten at her mother's, everything that littered the table was her favorite – no weird American balls of dough or baby cattle, just noodles, and stir fry, and spicy everything.

With her plate loaded, she hobbled over to the sofa.

"Where are you going?" Yugi asked as she dropped onto the cushions and patted the one beside her, opposite her outstretched leg.

"We can't cuddle at the table."


	16. Chapter 16

In years past, Kokoro had always found a disturbing waterfall of wrapped boxes and cards inside of her locker on White Day, even though she seldom participated in Valentine's Day. She would share her assortment of sweets with her friends and her judo teammates, even some teachers, before she brought the rest home for her father and brothers. The more personal gifts – the jewelry, the _lingerie_ – she would politely box up and stow in her closet. Then came the night of thank you cards, and by the end of the week, each of the boys who gave her a gift would realize she hadn't been won over and life would return to normal.

That changed when Yugi came into the picture.

Most of the vicious words and acid glares had died off, once it became obvious she wasn't bothered by the other student's attacks, but life had hardly returned to normal. Not that Kokoro missed the attention – she would really prefer _not_ to deal with an influx of chocolates she couldn't eat and jewels she wouldn't wear, never mind the scandalous underwear – but she was mildly disappointed to find her locker bereft of any gifts. It only reminded her that people, especially young people, were unbelievably petty.

Was it so difficult to believe she saw something in Yugi worthwhile, in spite of his stature? Apparently so.

"What's the matter? Sad all the boys decided the pedophile isn't worth their time?"

Kokoro couldn't be bothered to remember the girl's name, but their lockers had been in close proximity all through school. The other girl had always received her share of gifts, but it seemed that year, she had gotten the lion's share – Kokoro's share, specifically, in addition to her own. Kokoro did remember, however, one day in their first year, where the girl told her friend a story, oblivious to Kokoro's presence behind her, about how she had kissed a boy, only to learn he was her cousin.

"Not really. I suppose your nasty attitude is because your cousin didn't get you anything? Disappointed he isn't into incest any more?"

With that, Kokoro finished the laces of her sneakers, and turned towards the door, as whispers began to fill the room. Yugi, not to her surprise, was by the door, observing some invisible scuff on his shoe. He said nothing, in light of the irritation on her face, and merely held the door for her as they exited the school. He held onto his backpack straps and stared at his feet as they walked, a fellow student wailing miserably from behind them as she tried, and failed, to dispel the rumors that were bound to start that night.

They walked in silence until they came to the Game Shop door.

"Do you want to come in?" Yugi asked softly, as he kicked at the concrete. "I...uh..."

"Sure."

Sugoroku greeted them happily as they passed through his shop, but his smile fell when he noticed the mood that clung to the two like a storm cloud. He pulled Yugi aside and whispered in his ear as Kokoro walked upstairs alone, which was admittedly rather rude of her, but school was out and their next day was their day off, and she wanted to be out of her uniform considerably more than she wanted to be privy to whatever the two were so secretive about.

She turned into Yugi's room to change, and immediately felt guilty.

On his desk lay a bouquet of flowers – white lilies, baby's breath, and some others she didn't know the name of. A card stood tall in front of them, with only a simple heart but obviously hand made, and somewhere beneath she could see a box wrapped in white. She stood there, stunned, even as she heard Yugi's miserable shuffling in the hall behind her.

He tensed as she dropped to the floor beside him, wrapped with guilt and appalled by her behavior, and took hold of him by the waist. Most days, a hug with Yugi ended up with his face in her stomach and his arms around her hips, but for once, she hid her face in his school shirt, narrowly escaping a vicious jab of his puzzle to the eye. The urge to cry tightened her lungs, but she held it back, unwilling to break into messy, snot-filled, red-eyed sobs all over his pristine white shirt.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, as he put his hands on her shoulders and sighed. She dared to glance up, and found him with a small smile on his face.

"It's alright." He squeezed her shoulders. "Do you want your gifts?"

She nodded childishly, and stayed firmly planted on the ground as he wiggled free to fetch them. He handed her the flowers first, which she placed reverently on her school bag, and the card. The outside was plain, with a hand drawn, slightly lopsided heart, and on the inside, he had scrawled "Happy White Day" and signed his name with a small heart beside it.

There had not been one box, but two, one considerably larger than the other, and as he handed them to her, he flopped down beside her. She opened the smaller one first, at his request. Inside, she found a small case, rather than the cards she had expected. It was simple, a black case with a button clasp and a secure clip on the back. It was by no means an expensive deck case, but she had never had one that hooked to her belt, which was far more convenient than her own pocket case. She immediately pulled her old case out of her back, and slipped her deck into the new one – it was slightly loose, but fit tightly on her belt.

As she tugged at it to ensure it was secure, he handed her the other box. She felt a bit guilty that he had obviously invested so much money into the holiday when she had only given him some handmade chocolates, though admittedly, she had probably invested as much time as he had money to carve the face of the Millenium Puzzle into the caramel filled candies. They still only came out half right, but at least the pattern was identifiable, even if she only managed to get the eye right.

He handed her the larger box. It rattled noisily as she tugged at the simple white paper – he'd even put a bow on it. She wasn't used to seeing a boy take such care with wrapping a gift before, a testament either to Yugi's general sweet childishness or perhaps how much he cared, maybe both. The box beneath was also simple and white. Inside, she found a bunch of little white pieces. The white day theme of _everything_ being white grated on her slightly, but she appreciated the gift far more than the obnoxious color.

For a moment, she plucked at the puzzle pieces. Some had been scribbled on with black marker. It was impossible to make out what it said in so many pieces, but it was clearly a message added later. Briefly, she recalled a story about a friend of Anzu's who had a crush on Jou, and she had given him a similar puzzle only to have that menace of a teacher, Chono, confiscate it. Sugoroku had called it a love puzzle.

They spent the rest of the evening together, sprawled on the floor of his room beside one another, hand in hand, as they talked. Suguroku invited her to stay for dinner, where they ate stir fry at the table and he glanced between them with a knowing look. She eyed his grandfather suspiciously, but he didn't seem any less amused. Afterwords, she left, determined to get home before the sun completely disappeared and the three men in her house – her father and brothers – actually ate something other than ramen or take out. Yugi politely offered to walk her, but if she were honest with herself, he was in more danger walking alone at night than she was – as much as she adored him, Yugi probably couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.

After scolding her father for letting her siblings consume an inordinate amount of cheap, greasy drive-through burgers and fries when they had perfectly good food at home, she dropped down on to the couch and pulled out her puzzle. Over the lip of his game system, her father glanced at it, curious but determined not to give up his quest to find and get friendzoned by Princess Peach. Mario was a two foot tall plumber with a gross mustache, sure, but the least Peach could do was let him smash after all the times he saved her from Bowser, and what her brothers insisted had to be a rather spiky appendage.

She paused – she spent way to much time around her brothers, and she _really_ didn't need to think about Bowser's junk while she was working on a romantic puzzle.

Her father finally paused his efforts to reclaim his digital princess when the puzzle came together. It wasn't difficult – most of the pieces were half blank, but large. Over her shoulder, he puffed sweet cigar smoke into the air around her face as he read the message out loud.

"Kokoro," She shoved him off as her brothers perked up from their Tekken battle to listen to what was hopefully something embarrassing, but he was undeterred. "Thank you. For every moment we spend together, and for everyone I hope we have. With love, Yugi."

Her brother, Isamu, snickered nastily, only to have a half-empty soda cup thrown at his head. To her surprise, it was propelled by her father, who immediately leaned back to puff on his cigar as Isamu, and Masaru, innocent but well within the splash zone, tried to wipe the caramel color soda off before it stained their uniforms.

"You two could take a lesson." He replied as he crossed his ankle over his knee "Simple and sweet – that boy knows what he's doing."

"I thought you said Yugi was a..." Masaru paused. "What was it? _A lucky little brat with weird hair?_ "

Her father snorted and returned to his game.

"Maybe he's more of a _nice young man_ , but his hair is still weird."


	17. Chapter 17

Whatever Kokoro and her brothers were doing, Yugi was fairly certain he wanted no part in it.

He hadn't even realized that they were in the park, until he saw Masaru sprint from one side of the path to the other in nothing but combat boots, board shorts, and grease paint, with several cans of _something_ in his hand, screaming for revenge against Kokoro. Vibrantly colored foam string littered both his classmate and the trees – green, and pink. Yugi decided, very quickly, that he wanted no part in what he could only assume was some kind of weird game, and tried to walk on.

Then Isamu dragged him into it. Literally – as he walked across the path, the middle child of the three shot out of the bushes and dragged him back beneath cover, just as hot pink spray string flew in their direction.

"Yugi, you're just in time." Isamu whispered as they ducked behind a tree.

"For what?" He queried, as the upperclassman pulled a large backpack out from beneath a bench.

The bag was filled to the point of bursting with cans of various colored string cans. Isamu's, he noticed, were green, which he assumed meant Kokoro, still hidden somewhere, had commandeered the pink ones. Without an answer, Isamu tugged on his uniform jacket, without regard to Yugi's cry of outrage, and pushed a pair of shorts about his size at him.

"We need your help. A bunch of us are playing _War_. Masaru, myself, Jou, Honda, Hideki and a couple of others. We were hoping you'd come by and..."

Isamu paused, then abruptly got onto his knees to bow.

"Please help us, Yugi. Kokoro, Anzu, and Jou teamed up and they're kicking our asses! You're the only one who can get them!"

And, somehow, Yugi found himself in the park, without a shirt, armed with two cans of spray string while dressed in his swimsuit – which, he had learned, was because they all planned to go to the beach nearby, and had planned to swing by the store to grab him when Takumo found a sale on canned string. As he stared at the cans of string, Miho sprinted by with a delighted squeal, and narrowly avoided a spray of blue string as Honda chased after her with a broad grin. His teammates, Yugi had learned, were Isamu, Miho, and Hideki. Kokoro, Anzu, Jou, and Eiko were on their own team, and Ryuji was on Masaru's team, with, of all people, Takumo, their father, and Honda.

There were no real rules, except not to shoot the others in the face, and that the string couldn't be taken off on purpose. The team who had gotten the most on the other teams won, and the other two team captains had to buy them ice cream. Kokoro was captain of her team, Ryuji of his, and Isamu of the last.

Yugi _really_ didn't want to play, but Isamu gave him little choice, and he didn't want to be a spoil sport by sitting out, leaving the teams uneven and watching from the side as his friends had fun. All he had to do, Isamu insisted, was get Kokoro – and try to avoid being hit himself. She was, according to her brother, "too damn fast", and, like her siblings, took things perhaps a little too seriously.

He scooted cautiously through the bushes, and paused as Anzu sprinted after Ryuji. Though reluctant, he sprayed haphazardly in her direction, and managed to take her by surprise as the string wrapped around her arms. She spun, caught a glimpse of his hair, and started to give chase. With a shriek, he sprinted in the opposite direction, as Ryuji turned around and got her in the back, and she turned her attention back to him. He could hear Jou and Honda shouting, for once not at each other, and Anzu's demands Ryuji stop running like a little girl, over Eiko's high pitched war cry as she appeared from behind a tree just a few feet away and nailed Hideki in the chest.

Kokoro, somewhere on the far side of the fountain, let out a howl and dropped down from high in a tree just as her father passed into the open air, nailed him with a bunch of pink string, and was gone back into cover before he could retaliate, laughing all the while. Reluctant, but with his target in mind, Yugi carefully made his way over to where she vanished, and only managed to get sprayed once, by Jou, who had given chase to Honda, who in turn chased Miho, and fled, before he was hit in the back of the head with both blue and green string.

Yugi waited patiently in the brush, pink string sticky on his shoulder and chest, for Kokoro to make a move. Then the brush behind him shuffled, and pink string made a direct course for his chest. He cried out, jumped to the side, and had the presence of mind to retaliate with a spray of his own. A moment later, Kokoro appeared, glare leveled at the green spray on her chest.

Yugi had never before seen her in a swimsuit – or, half of one, as she wore denim shorts, but no shirt. It was nothing more than two triangles of bright red fabric with some basic tribal pattern that barely restrained her chest, and clashed horribly with the mint green tendrils that now covered it.

He almost feared for his life.

He ran, as he supposed he well should, in the opposite direction, screaming briefly at the top of his lungs as pink string sprayed around him, and Kokoro tried to convince him that she "wasn't going to hurt him", which he didn't believe for a second. Takumo, desperate for revenge, was his saving grace, and charged out of nowhere like a bull to cover his enraged daughter in blue strings. She let out a wail of anguish, and turned on her heel to give chase, sprinting off with a promise to destroy Yugi later.

The game eventually began to wind down. He lost track of who got who by he time he found a nice spot to sit and wait. Eiko, Anzu, and Miho had all given up, and sat on the bench _safe zone_ with the bag that contained the rest of the cans, and he sat down on the ground beside it. Shortly thereafter, Honda and Jou came sprinting by again, apparently not even the slightest bit tired, trailed by an exhausted Takumo, who flopped down on Yugi's other side and spread out on his back – and promptly began to snore. It was decided that the game would only go on until everyone emptied their current cans, before they would shower at the beach and relax.

What Takumo planned to do with the other twenty cans of string – which were apparently only a few yen a piece – Yugi wasn't sure.

It was decided, when Honda and Jou stopped throwing empty cans at one another, that Takumo's team had won. The announcement immediately woke him up from a dead sleep, as though he had been shocked, and he leaped to his feet and beat on his chest like an ape. Kokoro, arms crossed over her chest, pouted and turned her head away, though he could see her fight not to smile. As they walked towards the beach, which was little over a two blocks down the road, Isamu sidled up beside him and slipped him a high five.

"Nice job, Yugi. If you hadn't thrown Kokoro off her game, they definitely would have won."

Kokoro, on his other side, narrowed her eyes at her brother, then him.

"Traitor." She accused, then stuck her nose in the air, and promptly stumbled over some stray debris on the sidewalk.


End file.
